Protests in Iran: What is happening and what we know so far

Protests in Iran began on December 28, with merchants taking to the streets in Tehran. They have since spread to all major urban centers.

Reasons for the Protests in Iran

The initial trigger was the sharp devaluation of the national currency amid high inflation.Merchants in Tehran were the first to take to the streets, then students joined them. Protests soon erupted in other cities, including Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, and Fez.

Escalation

Protests over the economic situation escalated into unrest. Protesters have damaged banks and government buildings, clashed with police, vandalized monuments, and burned religious texts, including the Quran. Protesters are shouting anti-government slogans.

Killed in Iranian Protests

Around ten people have been killed, though exact figures remain unconfirmed. According to media reports, three people were killed in an attack on a police headquarters in the city of Ezna (Lorestan Province), two people were killed in the city of Lordegan (Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province), and a volunteer from an organization affiliated with the IRGC was killed in the city of Kuhdasht in western Iran. Dozens more have been injured among both protesters and security personnel.

Vandalism of monuments

A monument to the "Victory of the Islamic Revolution of 1979" was burned in the city of Kuhdasht, and in Khuzestan Province, as part of unrest, protesters burned a monument to IRGC General Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated by US forces in 2020.

Quran burning in Iran
In the western city of Hamadan, a group of protesters burned the Quran and other religious books on January 1. Another group of protesters attempted to attack a mosque, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Current situation
Iranian authorities have deployed additional security forces to cities. It is reported that all Iranian cities are under the control of security forces and the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) as of January 2. Arrests are being made among those participating in the protests.

"All the cities where the rioters were causing chaos were cleared by our forces, and public safety was restored. The unrest the Zionist regime wanted to create was successfully prevented",

Colonel Ebrahimi, Commander of the Iranian Special Forces (NOPO), said.

Government response
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke out regarding the unrest in the country. He called on the Interior Minister to engage in dialogue with the protesters, saying it was necessary "to listen to their just demands, and for the state to use its full potential to address their problems".

Against the backdrop of the protests, Pezeshkian also announced reforms to country's banking and financial systems.